Status of ceasefire unclear after Iranian missile barrage strikes Israel after a first deadline

Independent

4 hours ago

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a 'complete and total ceasefire' soon after Iran launched a retaliatory limited missile attack on a U.S. military base in Qatar. But the status of a possible ceasefire remained tentative on Tuesday as an Iranian missile barrage struck Israel after a first deadline for the proposal.
The Iranian barrages sent Israelis hurrying into bomb shelters as the sun rose, killing at least four people and injuring eight others, Israel's Magen David Adom rescue services said. Israel has yet to acknowledge Trump's proposal, which gives Israel more time to potentially strike back though Iran on its state television announced an overall ceasefire had begun at 7:30 a.m. local time.
The barrage damaged at least three densely packed residential buildings in the city of Beersheba, police said.
First responders said they retrieved four bodies from one building and were searching for more. Outside, the shells of burned out cars littered the streets. Broken glass and rubble covered the area. Hundreds of emergency workers gathered to search for anyone else trapped in the buildings.
Police said some people were injured even while inside their apartments' reinforced safe rooms, which are meant to withstand rockets and shrapnel but not direct hits from ballistic missiles.
The direct hit in the largest city in southern Israel came just days after the city's hospital sustained significant damage in a missile strike.
The Israeli military said people could leave bomb shelters but cautioned the public to stay close to shelter for the coming hours.
Trump says ceasefire is in effect
Trump's announcement that Israel and Iran had agreed to a 'complete and total ceasefire' came soon after Iran launched a limited missile attack Monday on a U.S. military base in Qatar, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites. The U.S. was warned by Iran in advance, and there were no casualties.
Trump's announcement on Truth Social said the ceasefire beginning about midnight Washington time would bring an 'Official END' to the war.
Israel doesn't confirm ceasefire but appears to pause strikes
Israel did not immediately acknowledge any ceasefire, but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 a.m. in Tehran. Heavy Israeli strikes continued in Iranian cities until shortly before that time.
Under the Trump plan, Israel was to halt its attacks on Iran by 1:30 p.m. Tehran time. There's been no report of Israel launching attacks against Iran since early Tuesday morning.
Israel did not immediately acknowledge any ceasefire, but there were no reports of Israeli strikes in Iran after 4 a.m. in Tehran. Heavy Israeli strikes continued in Iranian cities until shortly before that time.
The Israeli military declined to comment on Trump's ceasefire statement and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
'As of now, there is NO 'agreement' on any ceasefire or cessation of military operations,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on X. 'However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards.'
His message was posted at 4:16 a.m. Tehran time. Araghchi added: 'The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later.'
Writing over an hour after the first phase of the tentative ceasefire, which called for Iran to halt its attacks, Trump added: 'THE CEASEFIRE IS NOW IN EFFECT. PLEASE DO NOT VIOLATE IT! DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!'
Trump describes conflict as '12 Day War'
Trump gave the conflict between Israel and Iran a name: the '12 Day War.' That recalls the 1967 Mideast war, known by some as the 'Six Day War,' in which Israel fought a group of Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
Trump's reference carries emotional weight for the Arab world, particularly Palestinians. In the 1967 war, Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Though Israel later gave the Sinai back to Egypt, it still holds the other territories.
Trump communicated directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the ceasefire, according to a senior White House official who insisted on anonymity to discuss the Monday talks. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff communicated with the Iranians through direct and indirect channels.
The White House has maintained that the Saturday bombing helped get the Israelis to agree to the ceasefire and that the Qatari government helped to broker the deal.
It's unclear what role Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's leader, played in the talks. He said earlier on social media that he would not surrender.
Attacks from Iran forces temporary closure of Israel's skies
Israel's Airports Authority said Iran's barrage forced them to close the country's airspace to emergency flights for several hours.
Some flights were forced to circle over the Mediterranean Sea, according to Israeli media.
Israel's airports have been closed since the war with Iran began, but a handful of emergency flights started arriving and departing over the past few days.
By early Tuesday, Qatar Airways resumed its flights after Qatar shut down its airspace over the Iranian attack on Al Udeid Air Base. Flight-tracking data showed commercial aircraft again flying in Qatari airspace, signaling Doha believed the threat on the energy-rich nation had passed.
Conflict has killed hundreds
In Israel, at least 24 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the war. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 974 people and wounded 3,458 others, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists.
The group, which has provided detailed casualty figures from Iranian unrest such as the protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, said of those killed, it identified 387 civilians and 268 security force personnel.
The U.S. has evacuated some 250 American citizens and their immediate family members from Israel by government, military and charter flights that began over the weekend, a State Department official said.
There are roughly 700,000 American citizens, most of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, believed to be in Israel.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad, Abby Sewell in Beirut, Elise Morton in London, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Ella Joyner in Brussels, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna contributed to this report.